1. Field of the Invention
This application is directed to a warehouse storage system wherein storage units are manipulated by one or more overhead transfer units that can lift or elevate the storage units and maneuver them into vertically oriented storage cells or into vertical stacks without the need to use conventional cranes and forklifts and in such a manner as to maximize storage space by eliminating the need for internal aisles for manipulating and/or handling equipment.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Storage space is often an issue for many people and businesses. Whether it be people living in small urban units, such as apartments and condominiums, people downsizing to smaller homes, such as for retirement, or businesses generating stacks of papers and files, storage solutions are in demand. As a result, offsite storage facilities have been increasingly popular.
Conventional storage facilities typically include a plurality of individual storage units, such as garages, rooms, or lockers, that are housed by a static structure, such as a one-story building, multi-story building, or a warehouse. These facilities are built to allow access to the unit via a doorway opening. In order to use the facility, a customer must be able to transport the items to be stored to the doorway opening via driveways, hallways, stairways, elevators, or the like. As a result, a customer often has to rent trailers, trucks, vans or other vehicles to transport the items to be stored at the storage facility. Further, the customer may have to seek assistance in packing or loading the items to be stored.
Another drawback of conventional storage facilities is “dead space.” Due to the necessary means for accessing the doorway openings of the storage units, storage facilities have a lot of “dead space” that is taken up by aisles, driveways, and hallways, and not used for storage.
In an attempt to mitigate against some of the problems associated with conventional offsite storage facilities, other forms of storage have been developed, including storage containers that are delivered to a location designated by a customer. The customer then loads the items to be stored in these containers, and the containers are picked up and stored in an offsite facility. While this type of storage system eliminates the hassles associated with transporting the items to be stored to a storage facility, these systems still suffer from “dead space” and therefore do not maximize storage space. After the storage containers are loaded, picked up from the customer's location, and delivered to an offsite facility, heavy equipment such as, fork lifts, cranes, vehicles, and the like are used to move the containers into storage areas. The use of this heavy equipment requires a large amount of “dead space,” such as aisles, to enable the storage containers to be moved.
Since conventional storage systems and facilities suffer from “dead space,” there is a need for a storage system that maximizes storage space.